As you've probably heard by now either on our program or elsewhere, the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP for short) has been a disappointment -- to put it generously. The program, announced back in February 2009, aimed to…
EDITOR'S NOTE: Last month, we featured a week-long series of songs by our country crooning friend Merle Hazard about the Euro-debt crisis: Spain, Ireland, Italy and Germany, and an encore of the infamous Greek…
EDITOR'S NOTE: We received a number of responses from viewers like you regarding last week's broadcast story, "In Tiny Rhode Island, a Massive Public Pension Crisis Looms" and the Making Sen$e web piece, "Paying For Public Pensions." So,…
Editor's Note: As the fire over collective bargaining and public worker benefits burns across the country, on Thursday's broadcast we're looking at perhaps the issue behind it all: public pensions and how to pay for them. Our story takes place…
The specter of Euro-debt default is again roiling the markets. "Worries Over Europe Pose Risks for Euro," read a headline in Monday's Wall Street Journal. "Spain Pegs Cajas' Possible Problem Debt," warned another. (Cajas are the regional Spanish…
Name: Jean Maier Question: Hello Mr. Solman, I enjoy your economic reports on the NewsHour often. I imagine that you will be attending the AEA meeting this January. I'll have to say that I question a lot of what I…
Wall Street investors and some in Congress recently have raised concerns about the risk of cash-strapped municipalities defaulting on bonds they issued. Judy Woodruff talks to the National League of Cities' Chris Hoene and Richard Larkin of Herbert J. Sims…
Name: Merritt Dunn Question: Since the Treasury Department bailed out AIG and AIG had underwritten a large number of credit default swaps (that I understand pay up if a certain percentage of mortgages in a portfolio go into foreclosure), then…
The first of this week's series of posts from the ever-melodic, ever-economic Merle Hazard debuts today: a ditty on the plight of Spain.
In its heyday it boasted nearly two million people; the world's premier industry (autos); the world's most popular music (Motown); and perhaps the country's most prosperous black middle class. But Detroit's population is down 50 percent; so are wages in…
